"TRUTH WILL ULTIMATELY PREVAIL WHERE THERE IS PAINS TO BRING IT TO LIGHT." ~ (George Washington) ~
Submitted for your contemplation is a compendium of commentary, news, opinions, contrasts, and similarities regarding the many facets of the human condition be they found in Indiana, or Pennsylvania, or wherever else the 4 winds blow ~ It's COMMON SENSE for the common man (or woman) ~
Your mileage may vary.

27 August 2008

Humpday Happenings...It's that time of the week where we take a deep breath, and steel ourselves for the remainder OF the week.
And of course there are a few items that simply jump off of the pages or TV screen news and shout "Do your worst, Bob".
Not being one to shirk my responsibility in this matter, I submit to you the following.--Is anyone else as annoyed as I am over the Dumbocraptic national CON(vention)? Is this some Stalin-esque mantra we're all supposed to roll over for, praising every person taking the stage to kiss one another's ass? Looks like we need a SHAMWOWto catch all the drool from the huddled masses, doesn't it?
Sorry, not buying it one bit.
I will say that I never saw Hillary Clinton make SUCH a stilted and rehearsed speech in my life. It was sugary enough to send any diabetic into the E/R.
And no, I don't think the RepubliKanCON(vention) will be the insulin to counter this politically-fructosed diatribe either.Gone are the days of good SOLID campaigning for the ISSUES. Here are the days of opponent-bashing instead. Might as well get a freaking cage, sign on with the WWF and have a bloody death match on pay-per-view.
I mean the only things missing with these CON(vention)S are Tony Sullivan, Billy May, and Ron Popeil hawking whatever new trinket to enrich our (useless) lives for "only $19.99"(plus shipping and handling).
Still, that Pocket Fisherman always was intriguing...--Fort Wayne City Council is looking into a technology that will basically allow emergency responders to more safely navigate our streets. And it's got some potential.

The device, called the ELIMINATOR (not to be confused with the ZZ TOP car from the videos OR the album), was developed and is made here in Fort Wayne. And while I didn't think the council venue was the BEST choice to "promote" the device (the inventor apologized if it was taken that way), I did think the technology itself has it's benefits.
Let's face it...getting through traffic to answer a police call or to put out a fire isn't the EASIEST thing to do in ANY good sized city, right?
Some people just WILL NOT pull the f$ck over to let you by. Many are too wrapped up in their own little automotive cocoon to be bothered. And the traffic lights themselves add to this problem to NO end. I don't know HOW MANY times I've sat at a light, with NO traffic opposing waiting to get a green and proceed. And I'm sure many of you have sat and idled a few weeks of YOUR lives away over the years as well.
The ELIMINATOR does away with that (for the emergency vehicles that is). Through the use of FM frequencies, it will "talk" to the traffic lights, changing them to green and thereby allowing the police car, fire engine or other priority vehicle to proceed with the least amount of hassle. Sounds like a plan, right?
Well, the city-wide systems ain't cheap (right now), and there ARE other companies that make similar devices, but they aren't as reliable as the ELIMINATOR, which is not affected by large trucks, snow, rain, fog, smoke, etc. Definitely a win-win forthe"good guys"...UNTIL someone manages to bypass any codes or encryption and starts screwing with the lights for their own amusement.
Think of this possible "down side" as a universal remote that can change a neighbor's TV channel when you point it at their house, or the garage door opener with rolling codes that happens to find YOUR code and opens YOUR door (hopefully when you're not home) to allow a burglar access.
Now I'm sure the inventors have thought this out...at least I HOPE they did, otherwise, we could be asking for trouble.
A much cheaper fix for the time being would be to SERIOUSLY rework the traffic light timing to minimize random idling and gridlock, while maximizing the flow of the traffic. Here's another case where rampant developing in CERTAIN areas of our city did no one any good, in the long run (the Intersection at Coliseum & Coldwater comes to mind).
Another fix would be to enact a tougher stance on items which can cause drivers to become oblivious to things around them...items like loud stereo systems (that can effectively drown out even a siren), cellphones, and anything else that is a hindrance to the primary task at hand...namely DRIVING (your second job, as my Dad used to say).

Or if you're REALLY strapped for cash, just get one of THESE:
This can be mounted on a MOTORCYCLE, and they've been known to be sold on eBay.
And they retail for UNDER $15!
Take THAT, Billy May...you can keep your garden auger...I can change a freaking TRAFFIC LIGHT while riding my HARLEY...!
So THERE.
I do know one thing that IS needed, and that's to perhaps do away with many of the YIELD signs in lieu of some STOP signs, especially in in the SOUTH part of town.
Too many times, people just ramble on through with no regard for traffic.
Be much better to get them to to STOP.
I know there will be some morons that don't even heed THAT sign, but it would make some nice traffic stops.Failure to yield vs failure to stop.
Yeah, we can up the ante for violators there, I'm sure.
It used to be called law-enforcement.
And, like any good remedy for an ailment, it STILL works, when properly applied.--Lastly, for those of you following the "Saga of the neighbor's tree", just want you to know that the branches are still on the property of the house they were dumped at, but NCEdid come out yesterday.
Stay tuned, folks, 'cause Brunhilda ain't singing quite yet on this deal.

2 comments:

Even though I'm not much impressed with Obama, I CERTAINLY do not like Clinton. She is such a fraud and, like you said, ass-kisser. She kisses ass so much that she forgets what she says and the next time she speaks, she speaks in the opposite vein on her so-called "position" on this, that, or the other.

I'm starting to like McCain more and more.

To be honest, I just want November to come and have all this crap done and over with. I have never been so disgusted with America's "leaders" in all of my young voting life.

Sometimes I think it would do everyone good to get rid of EVERYONE in political office, right down to the city/town level (or below that if there is one), and have voters start filling in the slots one by one. Some people have been there too long and have gotten to like that big paycheck that they get to vote on to give themselves a "much deserved raise". It makes me sick that many of them make hundreds of thousands of dollars and say that they need more money when a majority of the nation is lucky to get $25k a year.

>:(

And don't get me started on universal *cough* socialist *cough* health care. People are expecting the government to just hold their hands all through life, from birth to death. It's pitiful, and if this socialist health care plan, for some crazy reason, does happen, I believe that we are going to see more and more deaths and complications than ever before. If I have to fill out a forest's worth of paperwork just so I can get my anti-seizure meds and bi-yearly MRI scans, I think I will start living in fear of my life.

Jana:If people only KNEW the trouble YOU'VE had to endure just for what you NEED...and all of it HONEST and LEGAL, while others fake having this or that...and everyone else has to PAY FOR THEM to get anything and everything they "want".There is some MAJOR injustice there.But you already know that.